Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber potentially saved the life of woman Monday evening after he gave her CPR on the side of the road. The former ER doctor called paramedics and administered first aid until the ambulance came about 10 minutes later.
Kitzhaber spokeswoman Nkenge Harmon Johnson told The Oregonian that he saw, “someone along the edge of the street who seemed to be attempting to resuscitate a woman ” and he “jumped out of the vehicle.”
President of the Portland Firefighters Association Alan Ferschweiler said, “It was pretty neat to see the governor back on and going back to work. He was surprisingly calm, and you could see he went right back to the days where he was an emergency room doctor. To go and assist the governor and take over this patient from him is pretty surprising. It definitely took us off guard.”
Ferschweiler said the woman most likely overdosed and is expected to survive. Kitzhaber has aided a man having a seizure before, and reportedly has performed first aid multiple times at the state Capitol.
Kitzhaber is in his third term as governor. He plans on running for a fourth term. Kitzhaber’s claim to fame was pushing “Cover Oregon,” the state’s Obamacare website which flopped tremendously.